Manganese flow battery gains £10m for Certain Energy

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes · Last updated: 7 September 2026

Certain Energy, the Imperial College London spinout formerly known as RFC Power, has raised £10 million in a Series A round to scale its manganese flow battery technology and push toward commercial, grid-connected systems. Lead investor British Business Bank provided £3.5 million, with Centrica, Temasek Trust’s Catalytic Capital for Climate and Health and Ceres Power also taking part. The company will use the funding to develop MWh-class systems for grid use, expand its UK research facilities and build a supply chain for repeatable projects — steps that aim to make long-duration energy storage usable for renewable-heavy grids, as first reported by Pulse 2.0.

“Long-duration storage is the missing piece of the clean energy system, and manganese flow is the technology that should win.”

Dr. Tim von Werne, Chief Executive of Certain Energy

What the funding buys: the £10 million and the plan to scale

The Series A round provides Certain Energy with capital to move from laboratory development toward repeatable, commercial projects. The company has stated its intention to use the financing to scale manufacturing, expand research capacity in the UK and develop a supply chain able to support MWh-class field systems. The named investors give both public and strategic backing: the British Business Bank provided £3.5 million, while energy firms and climate-focused investors — Centrica and Temasek Trust’s Catalytic Capital for Climate and Health — joined alongside fuel-cell firm Ceres Power.

Certain Energy says the money will fund the engineering and pilot stages needed before volume production. The company plans to demonstrate a grid-connected MWh-class system in India as a near-term deployment target and to develop procurement lines that make repeated projects commercially feasible. That combination — demonstration projects plus a supply chain build-out — is the explicit route the firm has set out for moving from research spinout to manufacturing supplier.

How the manganese flow battery works and why it matters

Certain Energy’s architecture blends flow-battery features with elements drawn from fuel-cell technology to convert electricity into a chemical form and return it to the grid. Its chemistry uses manganese rather than scarce minerals; the company notes manganese is abundant in the Earth’s crust and avoids dependence on rare elements. The technical advantage of flow systems is that energy capacity scales independently of power: adding larger electrolyte tanks increases discharge duration, so installations can be sized for hours or for multiple days of storage.

That design is aimed at a growing system need: as more wind and solar are added, systems that can hold renewable output for long stretches become valuable. Flow batteries typically separate the tanks that store active electrolyte from the cells that effect charge and discharge; Certain Energy’s variant applies that principle while borrowing fuel-cell engineering approaches to manage efficiency and manufacturing cost. The company frames manganese flow as a lower-cost, scalable candidate for long-duration energy storage.

Market fit and strategic links: Imperial, Ceres and UK policy

Certain Energy traces its roots to Imperial College London and was founded on research from Professor Anthony Kucernak and Professor Nigel Brandon; the firm remains headquartered on Imperial’s White City campus, occupying space in the I-HUB. That academic lineage is mirrored in investor ties: Ceres Power, itself an Imperial spinout with a market capitalisation of about £900 million, took part in the financing. The involvement of the British Business Bank signals alignment with UK policy goals around energy security and domestic long-duration storage capacity.

The company argues those links can help it translate lab advances into domestic manufacturing and exportable systems. It has said it will expand its UK research facility while pursuing a first MWh-class deployment in India, indicating a two-track approach: secure an initial commercial customer and prove repeatable delivery, then scale the supply chain. Those steps will determine whether the technology moves from demonstration to the kinds of multi-site projects grid operators require.

Case for and against rapid uptake

The bottom line

The £10 million Series A gives Certain Energy the financing and strategic links to attempt a common next step for university spinouts: move from lab validation to commercially repeatable systems. The British Business Bank’s £3.5 million commitment anchors public support, while participation from Centrica and Ceres Power connects the company to energy and industrial partners. The real test will be delivery — a successful MWh-class demonstration in India and the rapid formation of a supply chain are the concrete milestones that will decide whether manganese flow batteries become a practical tool for storing renewable power for days rather than hours.

What to watch

• Watch for Certain Energy’s announcement of its first grid-connected MWh-class deployment in India; no date has been set.
• Watch for a public update on the expansion of Certain Energy’s UK research facility and any dates for pilot production runs; no date has been set.
• Watch for further disclosures of investor commitments or of the supply-chain partners that will support repeatable commercial projects; no date has been set.